Polkadot (DOT) is making strong gains in early trading on Thursday, making the most of the upbeat mood in the crypto market as leader Bitcoin makes another attempt at crossing the $40,000 hurdle. At the time of writing, DOT/USD is trading at around $18.37.

Since its launch just about a year ago, the Ethereum killer has shot into fame and made its way into the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap based on its promise of interoperability using parachains – a concept that can make projects far more versatile and scalable than ever before. Its aim to become the ‘internet of blockchains’ is being realized as more projects integrate into its ecosystem, and enjoys the distinction of being known as the ‘next-generation blockchain’ by the Web3 Foundation, further hiking its credibility.

According to a recent report by popular crypto exchange Kraken, Polkadot’s DOT token ranked fourth among the highest performing mid-assets on its platform over the past week, seeing its trading volume increase by 6.2%. Even when the crypto market sees a dip in sentiment, trading volumes for this crypto have remained strong in recent sessions while its circulating market cap continues to rise even as the DOT price slipped lower.

Polkadot is also likely to enjoy support from the recent forecast by influencer and crypto trader Lark Davis who is bullish about its prospects as he expects parachain auctions on the network to be announced soon. Such an announcement could drive up the hype surrounding the blockchain and drive further bullishness in the DOT token in the next few week.

Key Levels to Watch

On the 4-hour price chart of DOT/USD, moving averages as well as the MACD indicator are exhibiting a strong bullish bias. Although, the momentum indicator suggests some selling pressure too.

DOT/USD

Polkadot’s price has crossed the pivot point at $17.23 and increased buying pressure could see it test the immediate resistance at $21.08. A break past this level will see a test of the next resistance at $23.73 before the DOT can break above the key $30 mark.